2015 Yankees Take Two of Three from Marlins for San Jose Ettare Division Title

San Jose MSBL: Ettare Division

San Jose Yankees 7, Marlins 6

(Front Row) Gil Salgado, Lambert Calvert, Ryan Erickson, Lorenzo Javier, Dennis Gordon, Greg Salgado (batboy), David Wark, Greg Cohen, Harlan McCaskey. (Back Row) Jose Mendoza, Ron Smare, Roy Williams, Eric Rynhard, Lonell “LC” Chattmon, Brandon Dove, Alex Niedzielski, Israel Rodriguez (Not pictured) Topher Chen, Jason Trask, Sergio Zamorano (Photo courtesy of Hillary Cohen)

‘Chattmon Double Helps Secure Yankees Title’

Submitted by Greg Cohen, Yankees manager

The 2015 Ettare Division Championship presented a match-up of the #1 seed Marlins v. the #2 seed Yankees. In their first year in the Ettare Division, the Marlins dominated the division, finishing with a record of 17-2-1 while scoring 223 runs and allowing only 97 runs. In the regular season, the Yankees handed the Marlins one of their two losses.

In Game one the Marlins jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead in the first inning. Starter Will St. Clair, who went undefeated for the Marlins on the regular season, cruised for seven innings allowing only one run. Yankee Lorenzo Javier provided great relief work, throwing eight innings and allowing only one earned run. However, the Yankees would not be able to battle back from the early deficit, and the Marlins would take game one of the series by a score of 8-2.

In Game two Yankees ace Ryan Erickson took to the mound. The Marlins jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the top of the second inning. However, the Yankees would battle back with one run in the bottom of the frame and then added three more runs in each of the third and fourth innings. Despite the deficit the Marlins would not quit, as they battled back to make it a 7-6 game heading into the top of the eighth. Although Erickson was still going strong into the eighth inning, he would see the lead vanish as the Marlins tied the game. Undeterred, Erickson took the ball in the top of the ninth, and held the Marlins scoreless.

In the top of the 10th inning, the Marlins were able to drive across the potential winning run and take an 8-7 lead. The Yankees scratched together the tying run with pinch runner Brandon Dove scoring from second on Jason Trask’s ground ball through the second baseman. Still in the game, Erickson climbed back to the mound in the 11th and shut down the Marlins.

Leading off the bottom of the 11th for the Yankees was Harlan McCaskey. Harlan crushed a double and with one out, pinch hitter Lambert Calvert strode to the plate for his first at bat of the day. Calvert stroked a two-strike pitch to right center, sending McCaskey racing home with the winning run to tie the series at one apiece.

In Game three the Marlins would send Will St. Clair back to the mound to face Lorenzo Javier. St. Clair shut down the top of the Yankees’ lineup in the first, however the Yankees bats came to life in the second and they scored four runs to take an early lead. The Marlins would chip away at the score and heading into the top of the ninth the Yankees held a 4-2 advantage. With two outs, LC Chattmon came to bat for the Yankees with a runner on base hoping to add to the lead. LC’s final at-bat as a Yankee would prove to be the biggest of his Yankee career as he crushed a double to the left-center gap. Two more runs would score and the Yankees were able to take a 7-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth.

The three runs the Yankees scored turned out to be huge, as the Marlins pushed across three runs and had the tying run at the plate. However, Ryan Erickson, who came in to throw six innings of relief, struck out the final batter to secure the victory and the division championship for the Yankees.

The Yankees would like to thank all of their families and friends for all of their support throughout the season. The Yankees also tip their cap to the Marlins who played three terrific games in the series and who will be a force as they move to the Dunn Division.